CHALLENGING YOURSELF AND STEPPING OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Posted on februar 22, 2018

After my first skiing holiday, I got reminded again how amazing it feels to try something which might scare you and then being able to accomplish it. After the first day on ski with our ski instructor I was ready for a mental breakdown and could cry at the simple thought of having to try an even bigger challenge the next day. But, wow it feels so good when you conquer your fears and you do what you was afraid to do. It feels amazing. I could also just have said no to go on a skiing holiday with my boyfriend and his family out of fear that “I can’t do that”, but I chose to do it and tried it and I ended up learning it and actually finding it pretty funny.

I’ve had so many of these experiences in my life, and almost every time I challenge myself I get so happy when I’m out on the other side, and sometimes I might fail but then I realise that that wasn’t really that bad either – and I was so happy that I actually tried it.

To come up with another example – I’ve been asked to come and hold a speech about sustainable living together with Johanne and Emma from Sustain Daily, and my first thought was “oh no, I get so afraid when I have to speak in front a lot of people”. Just to give you an example, throughout my school years (primary school and high school) I could seriously consider not going to class just because I knew we were going to hold a presentation. I was seriously so afraid of it.

I’ve learned to live with that fear, not that it’s completely gone, but it’s gotten much, much better after having been through several oral communication courses and oral exams at my university, and now I know that the worst thing that can happen is really not that bad at all.

My best advice is, that if you never try it, you will never figure out if it is something you might actually enjoy. You might not enjoy it at all, but if you do not try it, you’ll never know and that’s a shame if it could be something that would actually end up being something you love to do.

It’s healthy to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and challenge yourself. I’m not saying; you need to become an adrenaline-junkie and go cliff diving all the time. Not at all. You know yourself best, and it might just be simple things, such as speaking in public, that really scares you – try to challenge those fears.

And just remember, that the worst that can happen, is really not that bad at all. People might laugh at you, or you might fall and hurt yourself. But so what? Everything will pass, don’t let that stop you from trying. And let me tell you, if you worry too much about what others might think of you – most people are too busy thinking about themselves, and if they laugh at you or say something not very nice to you, it’s most likely that they have an insecurity themselves.

I hope that this might inspire you a bit to go out and try those things that you’ve been wanting to try. Don’t be afraid to fail, you’ll only learn more and gain more from making mistakes and it will only benefit you. If you haven’t watched J.K. Rowling’s speech about failure, then go watch it right now – it is so good (I might be a bit biased, because I love Harry Potter and almost everything Rowling does, but I truly think this is so inspirational).